


Reunited

by Jayuscaper



Series: Partners For Life [3]
Category: Breaking Bad
Genre: Eating Disorders, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:15:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26705095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jayuscaper/pseuds/Jayuscaper
Summary: Just when Walter White has given up hope of seeing Jesse Pinkman again, a familiar red car parks up next to his at the laundry.
Relationships: Jesse Pinkman/Walter White
Series: Partners For Life [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1793962
Comments: 1
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This continuing story has been fighting me (along with life in general) but I had a breakthrough this week when I finally realised what I needed to post and in what order, so this is not Part 3 (that is coming later), rather a one shot in 4 chapters, that focuses solely on Jesse reuniting with Walter White - I hope after reading that you will agree this deserves its own space, and the reason it was jarring as part of Part 3 was because it really is it's own beast. It needs to be told at this point, and then after this, I have decided that I will post the origin story I put together (or the beginning) that will take you back to Jesse's teenage years that shows you just what went on in Jesse's crazy world (in this universe) - then, and only then, will Part 3 finally be in the right place to start posting... enjoy, I really love this one shot, and I really enjoyed writing the origin stuff so I'm glad I've found a way to share that and keep things in order, so I hope you don't mind the pause before the real Part 3 arrives.

Walter White pulled up outside the laundry and sighed. He was not looking forward to having to do another cook solo and rubbed his face to try and wake up. Tyrus was ok to do the heavy lifting but he missed the banter that Jesse provided, the verbal warfare they often waged, and the company that Jesse provided in his own unique way. The worst part he struggled to work past was not knowing the bigger picture, it had been radio silence for nearly four weeks now with no word from Mike or anyone. Hank had fed him little pieces of info on the Cartel story, but Walt just did not know how involved anyone was, and how that affected him, more importantly he was now worried sick about Jesse to the point it was consuming him, affecting all aspects of his life.

He remembered breaking down in front of Hank, and pretty much confessing some stupid secret love for Jesse to his own ex-wife, and it made him realise how disconnected to life he was at the moment, he was just running on empty, going through the motions. As the weeks past, his growing interest, or was it now an obsession? His obsession with Jesse had grown, and he wasn’t sure what it actually was, it wasn’t lust or wanton desire, it was just a need to know he was safe and ok, he wanted to protect him and never fail him again. Walt could almost sense the little Heisenberg on his shoulder mocking him, and what he had allowed himself to become in such a short space of time. 

Had he not seen Jesse ‘die’ that night, what would he be feeling now he wondered? He would have been angry at Jesse for the inconvenience of not being around to help him, would have suspected he was getting too close to Gus and Mike. Walt dreaded to think what the old him might have done to Jesse had he not had the big wake up call, it was probably true that he had needed to save himself as much as needing to start protecting Jesse.

All too soon Walt felt his heart grow heavy, almost like a mourning period had set in that caught Walt off guard now he noticed it, but the pain was real. He could not let himself get his hopes up, he couldn’t allow himself to forever wait for something that might never happen. Walt hit the steering wheel, he needed to start the cook, complete his contract, secure his family’s future and then just, what? Walt knew there was only one outcome, it was just how long it would eventually take for the cancer to take him to his final destination and in that moment it couldn’t come soon enough if he had truly lost Jesse.

Over the past few days that lack of news was really making things worse. Jesse actually mattered to him, a realisation that may have come too late but in the hopeful case it wasn’t too late, Walt was determined that he would work so much harder to be the mentor, the confidant, the father figure, the friend that he should have always been to the young Jesse, maybe even something more. He had grown to realise that he loved the kid without question and his absence had only made that all too clear to him, he loved Jesse, he desperately missed Jesse, and that actually scared him to admit, despite being egged on by his ex to take things further if he ever got the chance.

He was about to open his door when he heard another car pulling up and he couldn’t hide his complete paralysing shock when he saw Jesse, right there, in the driver’s seat, in his familiar red car, parking up. Walt froze, then he panicked and then suddenly couldn’t scramble out of his car fast enough just in case it was a mistake.

‘Jesse?’ Walt called out as he covered the short distance to the driver’s side of Jesse’s car.

‘What’s up,’ Jesse simply said as he got out.

‘Jesse, oh my god, Jesse, I don’t believe it,’ Walt stammered, and without warning embraced the kid.

‘Be careful,’ Jesse simple warned, after initially squirming, aware of his healing wounds beneath his clothes, before simply accepting that Mr White was not letting go for a while. It was kind of nice, unexpected, and after the experience he had just had it was nice to know he’d been missed at least, even if only by Heisenberg.

‘Let’s talk,’ Walt gestured enthusiastically, finally releasing Jesse, and he moved to the usual space across the car park, Jesse reluctantly agreed, following Walt to the out of range area.

‘I don’t really want to talk, I’m just here to cook, ok?’ Jesse stated tiredly.

‘I wasn’t expecting to see you again, Jesse, I’ve heard nothing for a month please give me a small break here,’ Walt requested softly, trying to downplay how happy he was to see him.

‘Mike didn’t update you?’ Jesse checked.

‘No, I’ve heard absolutely nothing, Jesse,’ Walt offered, as he hovered around Jesse looking like he could embrace him again without warning at any minute, unnerving Jesse a little. In truth he was finally taking a look at Jesse, he could see the healing bruises on his face, he looked tired, his hair was a little longer than usual but still messy. It was hard to tell for sure, but he looked like he had lost more weight, his clothes were even more baggy looking.

‘We got back yesterday,’ Jesse shrugged and then rubbed his face. ‘Look, I don’t want to be rude, yo, but I do just want to cook, you know, get back to normal, can we do that, Mr White?’

‘Sure,’ Walter considered, wishing he wasn’t in so much shock to properly talk. ‘I’ve missed having you around.’

Jesse gave Walt a blank look before the two of them headed into the laundry, and towards the entrance to the super lab. Once inside they got changed into their protective gear in silence, Walt keeping a casual eye on Jesse, sensing he was tired but noticing he was a little restricted with some of his movement, possible unseen injuries and he definitely looked thinner than he ever remembered Jesse looking.

‘Are you sure you’re ok to do this today?’ Walt checked.

‘Yeah,’ Jesse simply said with gusto. ‘I’ve taken my meds, I’ve eaten some food and I got a good night’s sleep so let’s go, yo.’

‘Ok,’ Walt agreed with a forced smile.

* * *

They were midway through the cook when Walt saw Jesse grimacing, then pausing to catch his breath for a moment. Jesse had just been overseeing the heavy lifting part of the process and Walt hadn’t noticed the cast on his arm till that moment. Walt glanced at Tyrus who simply looked on even though he had been doing that part of the cook for the past month and wasn’t seemingly in the mood to offer to help Jesse now.

‘Go take a break, Jesse,’ Walt simply encouraged, and heard no complaint, as Walt took over the remaining tasks for that part of the cook. ‘Tyrus, you don’t need to be here if you have other things to do, I have all the help I need,’ Walt then gestured and with just a quick glance at Jesse, Tyrus made his way to the exit.

Walt finished up what he was doing before joining Jesse and taking a seat, he watched Jesse taking some measured water intake whilst taking a couple of pills.

‘Look, I will talk,’ Jesse had noticed Walt’s staring. ‘Just give me some time.’

‘Ok,’ Walt offered. ‘Just want you to know, I am here when you need me, ok?’

‘I’ve not forgotten,’ Jesse said softly. ‘You know, I do remember how you helped me before,’ he stated, he was rubbing his face again, Walt noticed as he talked. ‘You helped me then, so yeah, when I’m ready,’ Jesse agreed.

‘Good,’ Walt half smiled. ‘Seems I own a car wash now,’ Walt then offered and saw Jesse’s sudden amused expression, which was strangely pleasing to witness.

‘For real?’ Jesse asked brightly.

‘Yeah, a means for Skyler to launder the money,’ Walt smirked guiltily.

‘Yo, so Mrs White is now a criminal?’ Jesse doubled checked.

‘Well, she’ll never say that, but effectively yes, she has turned to the dark side,’ Walt smiled, happy to engage Jesse in some form of conversation.

‘Mr White, keeping it in the family,’ Jesse offered loudly, taking another sip of water before he grimaced slightly.

‘You ok?’ Walt checked.

‘Yeah,’ Jesse rolled his shoulders a bit, seeming to stretch his back. ‘Just still a little sore, my right hand still isn’t fully back to normal but look,’ he showed Walt the movement he now had, and being able to almost make a fist now if it wasn’t for the cast on his arm. ‘It’s getting better.’

‘Much better than when I last saw it, well apart from the cast of course,’ Walt agreed. ‘Is it broken?’ Walt then gestured to the cast.

Jesse seemed unsure as he looked at his arm. ‘I think they mentioned a small fracture in the wrist, it doesn’t hurt,’ Jesse shrugged casually. ‘Will be able to take it off in a few days I think.’

Walt then looked at Jesse. ‘Hey, remember that rain check I did, on the Go-Karts?’

Jesse looked back at Walter with amusement. ‘Yeah,’ he simply said, dragging the word a little unsure where the conversation was heading.

‘Well, I’ve not forgotten, when you feel ready let’s go and do that one night,’ Walt suggested.

‘Go-Karts, you?’ Jesse checked.

‘You asked me, remember? So now I’m saying I can,’ Walt stated. ‘Once your wrist is better, obviously.’

‘Yeah but I wasn’t really in a good place then, I just wanted company is all,’ Jesse explained, avoiding eye contact as he spoke.

‘I can be company if that’s all you need,’ Walt shrugged, not wanting to sound too desperate to spend some proper quality time with Jesse, start to make up for all the crap he’s put him through, show him he can be that trusted friend he really needs, firm up their team, their partnership.

‘Yeah, that works,’ Jesse agreed. ‘How about tonight, get a take-out, we can talk?’

‘I’d like that,’ Walt agreed with a smile.

Jesse got to his feet and began the next phase of the cook, leaving Walt to feel like he had just been asked on his first date, feeling a little giddy about the mini breakthrough.

* * *

Mike was waiting in his usual spot when he saw Gus exit the back door with his garbage bag in hand, once disposed of he walked to the car and got in.

‘We need to decide what to do with Pinkman,’ Gus simply said to start things off.

‘OK, what are your thoughts so far?’ Mike asked wearily.

‘Jesse can cook solo, that’s something we need to work on, build his self-confidence to enable him to stand on his own, believe that he has an equal role in this alongside Walter, not as his assistant,’ Gus said calmly, with a hidden edge.

‘The cook is a two-man job,’ Mike observed.

‘Jesse is young, he doesn’t need an assistant to help with the manual side of things like Walter does,’ Gus answered.

‘What’s the plan?’ Mike asked.

‘Right now, we have options and I wish to consider those options before I commit,’ Gus stated slowly. ‘I want you to keep observing Jesse, we need to know he’s on our side. Tomorrow he will go with you to do the pick-ups.’

Mike glanced at Gus. ‘The boy is still recovering,’ Mike stated.

‘He is working in the lab today, seems to have successfully helped Walt with the cook, he is more resilient than we give him credit for.’

Mike looked away, he hated surprises, Jesse should have been resting not working in the lab. ‘Ok, I will take him with me tomorrow.’

‘I may set up a little test, keep him on his toes,’ Gus informed Mike who raised his eyebrows but did not protest verbally.

‘I look forward to it,’ Mike then replied and watched as Gus exited the car, the meeting clearly over.

* * *

Del Burley looked at all the information presented to him, pictures of dead bodies around a swimming pool littered his desk. Finally, an image of his good friend Don Eladio, face down in a pool and he knew it meant Franko got what he wanted.

‘So, Del, my old friend, you see how this looks for this part of the world,’ Declan stated, sitting across from Del, he was a known criminal who operated in the very grey areas and had a drugs operation that had come under threat from Gus Fring’s growing empire.

‘Gus Fring has free reign now without the Cartel to keep him in check,’ Del observed.

‘And somehow it’s no secret that you played a part in it, or rather that not so silent partner of yours did, everyone knows Franko had a grudge against Eladio,’ Declan said. ‘Seems Fring is telling people in the know that your attempt to win favour with the Cartel by taking one of his cooks back fired when you left Fring no choice but to strengthen his position and get his cook back.’

Del stood up and took a deep breath. ‘You’re thinking he’s not going to stop at just controlling this sector?’ he motioned.

‘You can see my concern, so I’m wondering if there’s something we can do about this,’ Declan suggested. ‘You are not of this world, my friend, your business has never interfered with ours on this level before so unless you have plans to take over Fring’s empire, I would suggest you tidy this up and leave it to the people who are of this world and stop meddling.’

Del looked at Declan and it was clear that he was expecting a response. ‘We appreciate that at this moment things appear to be in Fring’s favour but I can personally assure you that this will not remain the case, I beg you for patience,’ Del requested giving nothing more away about his upcoming plans that were still being worked on.

‘I will give you some time, but know we are all watching with interest Mr Burley, we need someone with your power to take that guy down a peg or more,’ Declan said as he got to his feet, seemingly satisfied for the moment and left the office. Del took out his phone, dialling a number. ‘Franko, we need to talk, we need to act on Fring now, call me as soon as you get this message.’

* * *

Jesse paused at the workstation, having just tidied away the last bits of the cook in the lab, he was exhausted, and it had taken most of his energy just convincing Mr White that he was ok for much of the day. He wasn’t ok, far from it, but being back in the lab, being with Mr White, it was what he desperately needed and for the first time in weeks he felt confident in himself and safe. Jesse was sure if Mike or Fring heard him say something like that about being around Mr White he’d get the raised eyebrows, but it was true, and the events of the past few weeks showed Jesse more than ever that he needed Mr White by his side.

Jesse tiredly put back the smaller items they had needed for the cook, now all cleaned. He grimaced as he felt a twinge in his back and rolled his shoulder to try and alleviate the pain. Frowning as the pain eased slightly, Jesse was concerned by what little he remembered from the past few weeks. He remembered being tortured by Franko, the main part but once he was given the drug everything became hazy. Jesse remembered the cook in Mexico, but after that it was less cohesive, vague flashes of being in that same dirty lab, more pain and some doctor fussing over him.

Regardless of the concerns he had, he knew one thing, once Mike had delivered him to his house the previous evening Jesse had felt lost, and very alone. It had taken a long debate to convince Mike that he didn’t need looking after, that all he wanted to do was sleep and be left alone but truth was he was no longer sure how much he could trust Mike, not after everything with Gus. Waking up in that facility, Gus talking to him in the manner he had, as if he was important to him now and just having this uneasy feeling about something happening between him and Gus had set Jesse on edge. He needed to feel safe again, to understand who he was and what he did, and only Mr White could provide that security, that assurance and so as soon as it was daylight Jesse had no qualms about driving to the lab, hoping a cook was happening that day.

Jesse moved to the locker and began to get changed into his normal clothes. Mr White had gone ahead to pick up the Chinese take-out they were going to have later that evening at his house. It had taken most of the last couple of hours of the cook to decide exactly what they were going to eat, but they got there in the end. Mr White had seemed excited by the prospect of a boy’s night in, to catch up, and if Jesse was being honest with himself, he was also looking forward to it.

Slamming the door of his locker, Jesse stopped for a moment on that thought. He liked that Mr White was happy to spend time with him, remembering the Go-Karts suggestion and how disappointed he had been that Walter had dismissed it so quickly that time. This is how it should have always been, Jesse smiled to himself, he had always enjoyed being in Mr White company, despite how grumpy he could be. Learning the cook, listening to his lectures or stories about life, but he also knew he didn’t always show how much he liked Mr White’s company, how he enjoyed bickering with the old man, winding him up, testing him and pushing buttons, it was part of the fun and it became their bond.

In some ways he had always gravitated towards older people and figured it had something to do with being so let down by his parents, he needed mentors from his aunt to Mr White, and a few others he was sure in between that he couldn’t recall. Jesse knew he could spend time with his own friends more his age, Badger and Skinny Pete and he adored them both to death, he really did, in fact he made a mental note to remember to catch up with them but Mr White gave him something more, a purpose, direction and a place in society, he was Heisenberg’s second. 

When he was with Walter White It wasn’t just about getting wasted like when he spent time with Badger and Skinny, and the amount of times he’d end up just listening to those two numbskulls argue or discuss the most ridiculous insignificant things just drained him. With Mr White, he felt like he was where he belonged, things had meaning, and the past year had been anything but dull. However, Skinny and Badger would die for Jesse, without doubt and they always had his back. Fiercely protective, Jesse had been saved from many a weird or dangerous situation by those two rocks surprisingly and that was the one thing they had over Mr White in droves. 

Jesse however couldn’t ignore the very recent change, and he would be the first to admit that the more attentive, friendly Mr White was a little unnerving, but it sure beat the unpredictable psycho Heisenberg that Mr White was fast becoming for a moment there, Jesse realised he was desperate to believe Mr White had changed. 

The headache was still there, less so than before but still on the edge of his psyche, Jesse was afraid to think too much about his head and what was going on inside it. Since talking to the shrink and knowing just by how Mike was acting around him that he had some sort of mental episode in Mexico, Jesse feared that he was standing on some edge and about to fall. This is why he wanted to be around Mr White right now, he would know what to do, he wouldn’t kill him like some rabid dog at the first sign of trouble and right now he needed to believe that, he needed that support and someone who believed in him by his side. More than anything he was afraid to be alone, and now he seemed to have Mr White’s attention, and the timing couldn’t have been better for Jesse. 

What had made the last few weeks even more hellish was knowing he was on his own in captivity, to be separated from Mr White meant there was no plan, he was not part of something bigger that would take down the bad guys. He’d been the victim, the one who needed saving, the one who played no other part than just being a stupid pawn in a bigger game that he wanted no part of. In Mr White’s world he was right next to Heisenberg, he had a purpose, he even called some of the shots, and he was the only person Mr White would cook with, risking whatever it took to keep them both alive.

Jesse walked up the steps to the exit, he was so happy to be back where he belonged and could not wait to see Mr White, who would be waiting for him when he got home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for take out and chat... and something quite suprising...

Walt put the Chinese food on the passenger seat, made sure it was secured before driving away and heading towards Jesse’s house. He had a nervous sensation in his stomach, thinking that just that morning he’d convinced himself that Jesse was dead and then a miracle had happened when he simply parked up alongside him. Walt couldn’t stop the smile now plastered on his face, but he knew to stay calm. He didn’t want to spook Jesse, certainly had no plans to jump him or anything ridiculous like that, despite Skyler’s voice in his head to do just that. No, Walt really wanted the chance to let Jesse know that he did care, and that things would change, that they had to become more of a team, and it was he who now realised this.

Thinking of Skyler Walt activated his phone and heard it ringing.

‘Walt?’ Skyler answered.

‘I wont be home till late tonight, don’t worry about food,’ Walt answered.

‘No offence, but I wasn’t actually planning anything for you, remember we’re not an item anymore?’ Skyler returned with amusement. ‘What’s going on? This is the first time in months you’ve let me know your movements.’

Walt smirked, she knew him too well. ‘OK, I just wanted an excuse to tell you some good news.’

‘Oh?’ Skyler returned.

‘He’s made it home, Jesse is back,’ Walt revealed.

‘Ohhhh,’ Skyler almost sang. ‘Ok, now I get it, Walt I’m so happy for you, you must be ecstatic,’ Skyler enthused.

‘We’re having some take out, he’s going to tell me what went on,’ Walt offered.

‘Try and stay calm, Walt,’ Skyler warned. ‘Does he look ok, in good health?’

‘Hard to tell, I think he’s the worst of it, he needs time probably,’ Walt revealed. ‘I’m just happy he’s made it back, almost had a heart attack this morning when I saw him.’

‘I bet,’ Skyler returned brightly. ‘Remember give him space, don’t push him and have fun,’ Skyler offered and they finished the call.

Jesse had only just parked up when Walt pulled up, and he left his front door open for Walt who began to set about unpacking the hot food once inside. Jesse fussed in the kitchen getting plates and cutlery as Walt laid the food out on the small coffee table in the lounge. To Walt’s surprise Jesse had opted to stick to his water rather than accept the bear Walt had picked up in the takeaway, the kid was taking his recovery seriously. The food was plenty, and it would be interesting to see how much Jesse would actually eat, Walt considered, picking up all day on the fact Jesse kept snacking on some bars that looked more healthy than enjoyable.

‘Looking forward to this,’ Walt enthused as Jesse handed him a plate.

‘Yeah,’ Jesse simply said with a brief smile, as he sat down on the floor by the coffee table, and then grabbed a bit of rice and some pieces of chicken.

‘You look like you need it, don’t think I haven’t noticed you seem to have lost more weight, dare I ask?’ Walt ventured cautiously.

Jesse took a deep breath before speaking. ‘Yeah, didn’t get much to eat over the past two or three weeks, got some catching up to do.’

‘If you don’t want to talk about it, just say,’ Walt advised. ‘I have plenty of small talk about car washes to fill the dead air,’ he grinned.

‘No, it’s cool, just earlier I was a little overwhelmed by being back in normal space,’ Jesse explained. ‘It’s been tough not knowing what was going on or if I’d ever be back.’

‘Tell me about it, I was really worried, I kept hearing little bits and pieces but for the most part we decided it was best if I just carried on as normal, Hank has got a little too close for comfort so that’s why I didn’t come to Mexico,’ Walt offered.

‘Hank?’ Jesse caught. ‘What’s his problem?’

‘The manner in which you disappeared into the system after he put you in custody piqued his interest and then,’ Walt sighed before continuing. ‘He’s been told that you are Heisenberg’s second.’

‘What?’ Jesse exclaimed with shock.

‘We think Del Burley told him,’ Walt offered.

‘Why the fuck did he do that?’ Jesse questioned.

‘That, we don’t know, we are as confused as you are on that one,’ Walt answered.

‘We?’ Jesse asked.

‘Me, Mike and Gus,’ Walt replied, seeing how confused Jesse appeared to be. ‘When we worked out you were missing, not just lost in some admin hell, the three of us worked out a plan but Hank’s poking about put paid to my involvement in that plan, but we had formed a sort of alliance,’ Walt shrugged.

‘But they didn’t tell you I was home, or contact you in the last week to say I was ok?’ Jesse checked.

‘No, they didn’t but I imagine you’ve all had quite a trip, so it’s ok, I get it,’ Walt offered, unsure why he was trying to play it down but comforted to know it seemed to bother Jesse as much as it did him.

‘Gus was unconscious for much of that time I think, I mean I was too,’ Jesse remembered, but showed some confusion as he tried to work out the time frame for a moment.

‘What happened to cause that?’ Walt asked concerned, wondering if it was connected to the cartel incident.

‘We were poisoned,’ Jesse simply answered. ‘Well seems Gus purposely poisoned himself, he tried to stop them giving it to me, but they insisted and then I lucked out, didn’t like it so didn’t drink it all, I don’t remember to be honest that’s just what I was told.’

‘Is this connected to those cartel deaths?’ Walt pushed.

‘You heard about that?’ Jesse seemed surprised.

‘Hank was all over it,’ Walt half smiled. ‘In his quest to find you, there was a rumour you were in Mexico and he’d been looking out for any strange occurrences that he might be able to link to your disappearance.’

‘Jesus, that’s the last man I want taking an interest in me,’ Jesse looked worried.

‘Of all the men you are associated with and Hank’s the one that scares you the most?’ Walt said with amusement.

‘I know where I stand with you, Gus, even Mike, but Hank nearly killed me for real, yo, with just his fists, guy is a proper fucking psycho,’ Jesse said with genuine fear.

‘Just keep a low profile for a bit, he’ll get bored soon enough,’ Walt advised trying to downplay things for the sake of the evenings mood, tucking into his food but noticing Jesse was only taking small bites of his. ‘We have plenty of food, Jesse, you don’t have to ration it.’

Jesse realised he had been caught and put more rice on his plate, knowing he could stomach that more than the other items. ‘How did a rumour that I was in Mexico come about?’

‘Del Burley again I think,’ Walt revealed.

‘What is that fucking man’s problem, it’s like he’s become as obsessed with me as much as his crazy son was,’ Jesse stressed. ‘Isn’t it enough what his son did to me, why can’t he leave me alone?’

Walt was reminded of Gus’s hinting about there being more between Del Burley and Jesse, but seemingly Jesse was not aware of whatever it was, so he decided to steer clear of that for the moment just in case it was a trigger. ‘What happened to you after you were taken into custody?’ Walter finally asked.

Jesse looked troubled. ‘I don’t know, my head got messed up and I can’t really recall much, at least not in great detail,’ Jesse admitted. ‘I think I was given some drug for the most part, but I think I remember being in this white room,’ Jesse rubbed his head. ‘Then this other room, with Franko?’

‘Del Burley’s right-hand man?’ Walt offered and Jesse nodded his head.

‘I was there for a while, they beat me, pretty bad but maybe that’s when they gave me the drug, it’s all messed up,’ Jesse complained at his own lack of recall.

‘I think you were there for just over a week, before you went to Mexico,’ Walt revealed from what he knew.

‘Ok, that seems about right,’ Jesse sighed. ‘He wanted to know who I worked for, what I did, why I was important and when I didn’t tell him Franko would beat me, pretty badly at times, I don’t think I could have taken much more and then he tells me that Gus saw him and told him everything,’ Jesse revealed, looking like he only just remembered that part.

‘That must have stung,’ Walt reasoned but Jesse didn’t react, just took a couple more bites of food before speaking again.

‘After that he pretty much worked out that if I wasn’t Heisenberg, I must be someone pretty close to him, and next thing I know he’s palming me off to the Cartel as a cook,’ Jesse remembered.

‘And the very fact you are still alive must mean you were able to cook to my standards,’ Walt figured.

’96.2%,’ Jesse simply said.

‘Impressive, I knew you’d be ok,’ Walt said with some pride.

‘You’re not angry?’ Jesse checked.

‘That you’re still alive? Far from it, Jesse,’ Walt said with a genuine air.

‘That I revealed the secrets of your cook to the cartel,’ Jesse corrected.

‘Aren’t they all dead now?’ Walt suggested.

‘I guess,’ Jesse realised, everyone from the lab was at the fatal party and then Jesse froze. He had a flash of memory, of Stefan, killing him as they made their escape.

‘Jesse?’ Walt checked.

‘Sorry, I was just remembering something, but I don’t know why,’ Jesse responded. ‘Did Gus come and save me, or just to kill that Cartel guy?’

‘He wanted to bring you back here,’ Walt confirmed. ‘But I think he had history with that Cartel boss.’

‘I would have been killed if I hadn’t been able to cook your recipe,’ Jesse figured. ‘So his main aim must have been revenge against Don Eladio, and then as a bonus only bringing me back if I was alive, because if I was alive, it proves I can cook,’ Jesse figured, and Walt didn’t want to agree but he couldn’t deny it. ‘Gus has already talked to me about running the lab solo, I mean no direct plans, but that I can, in that way he has,’ Jesse spoke quietly, avoiding Walt as he focused on his food again.

‘That doesn’t surprise me,’ Walt said solemnly.

‘I won’t do it,’ Jesse simply said after a moment’s pause.

‘You might not have a choice,’ Walt warned. ‘Why did you come back here to this house, why not the safe house?’ Walt then asked.

‘Just needed familiarity,’ Jesse admitted remembering his fears, and then he put his plate down suddenly and Walt noticed he seemed to be struggling with containing his emotions.

‘Hey, Jesse,’ Walt put his own plate down and hurried to his side. Jesse initially tried to shrug his attentions away, as he brought his knees up and put his head in his hands to hug himself, but finally let Walt put an arm around him. They were both sat on the floor now in near silence with only Jesse making any kind of noise as he continued to battle with his emotions.

‘It’s ok to cry, Jesse you know that,’ Walt soothed, protectively holding him close.

‘I’m done crying,’ Jesse snapped suddenly through gritted teeth, rocking slightly on the floor. ‘I don’t know what this is but I’m tired Mr White, I’m tired of being ill, feeling crappy and weak, I’m tired of having to always watch my back, second guess everything,’ he stressed keeping his hands covering his face. ‘I don’t know who to trust anymore, and I don’t know why I can’t remember shit, shit I know I should know, but nothing is there,’ Jesse shrugged Walt’s arm off and got to his feet, wiping his face, and taking some deep breaths as he lightly paced to regain some composure. ‘I’m such a mess,’ he admitted, hugging himself. ‘I know I’m forgetting important stuff, Mr White, I know stuff has happened to me but it’s like just out of reach, I hate this fog, this pain,’ Jesse showed his frustrations and anger.

‘I’m not going to judge you, Jesse, not ever,’ Walt stated, as he got to his feet. ‘Jesus, Jesse I know you’ve been through hell these past few weeks, you are allowed to feel fucked off about it.’

Jesse smirked at that and just looked at Mr White, then glanced at the floor seemingly deep in thought. ‘I should have just called your bluff.’

‘What?’ Walt asked, a little confused.

‘That night you came over, whenever it was,’ Jesse sighed as he kicked the floor. ‘That first time you tracked me down to this house after the bust. Should have just let you give me up to your asshole brother in law and be done with it.’

‘You know I had no intention of doing that, right?’ Walt admitted. ‘I needed you, I still do,’ he added and hoped it didn’t sound too forward.

‘I know that now, you piece of shit,’ Jesse returned with a scoff, and just stared out the window. ‘Getting busted by the DEA back then was the big no, no, couldn’t think of anything worse happening to me,’ Jesse remembered with a wry laugh. ‘Now, shit,’ Jesse looked in a state of disbelief. ‘I just escaped from being owned by the cartel as only one of two people who can cook the hottest meth product out there.’

Walt shared Jesse’s wonder. ‘I told you we would make the best product.’

Jesse moved back to the table and sat back down, he seemed determined to keep eating as he grabbed his plate and put some more rice and chicken on it and began to eat with more purpose. Walt returned to the futon and started to eat his own food again, glancing occasionally at Jesse unsure what the kid was thinking. Jesse suddenly put his plate down on the table, only half the food eaten, and then lay back on the floor with one hand on his stomach the other covering his face.

‘Jesse?’ Walt ventured, and tentatively put his plate down and then rushed to him when he saw Jesse suddenly bring up some food, looking likely to choke. ‘Sit up, Jesse,’ Walt encouraged, lifting Jesse’s upper body with little resistance and he scooted behind him allowing Jesse to rest against him. Jesse tried to cover his mouth as he continued to bring up a small amount of food, and Walt found the discarded bag the food came in and gave it to Jesse to use. Jesse brought up more, with more force for a minute or so, before discarding the bag when he felt he was done, Walt absently rubbed his back, but Jesse shirked away.

‘No,’ Jesse grimaced, and awkwardly stretched his body.

‘Are you ok? Walt checked.

‘Yeah, just some nausea, I been getting it lately with this starvation crap I’m dealing with,’ Jesse admitted wiping his mouth, and then finished his water.

‘I’ll get you a clean shirt, and some fresh water,’ Walt offered quietly, taking his glass.

Jesse just sat remaining on the floor, Mr White’s attentiveness was blindsiding him a bit he had to admit, but he was liking having someone taking care of him more than he would ever admit out loud, especially to Mr White. He was pleased that his stomach had calmed down in the last few minutes, and with some deep breaths he started to feel a bit better. Walt returned with a fresh glass of water and a clean shirt, Jesse wasted no time in removing the dirty shirt and used it to wipe his face before discarding it across the room and then took some need gulps of the water to rid the horrible taste in his mouth.

‘Jesse, sorry I didn’t realise,’ Walt then said with some shock in his tone.

The wounds on his back, Jesse realised having exposed them when he removed his shirt, he had forgotten Mr White had tried to rub his back when he was being sick and had instinctively shirked away.

‘Courtesy of Franko, via Del Burley no doubt,’ Jesse simply replied, his voice low. ‘The price I paid for not talking about Gus’s business.’

‘Jesus,’ Walt was genuinely horrified at the sight. ‘And then Gus talked anyway,’ Walt said with an edge to his voice.

‘He forgot to tell me I was supposed to talk this time,’ Jesse stated with attitude, and put the clean shirt on to cover the various abrasions up again.

‘You said you didn’t know who you could trust,’ Walt spoke with care. ‘Am I included in that?’

Jesse carefully got to his feet, and took his glass without responding, walking back towards the kitchen. Walt picked up the discarded bag, and the plates as he followed. Jesse went to a white paper bag once he was in the kitchen and took out some medical supplies that he began to sort through as Walt threw away the sick bag, and cleared the two plates of food before putting them in the sink, and began to wash them.

‘You don’t have to do that, yo,’ Jesse simply said, as he found the medicine he was looking for, taking two pills and using his water to wash them down.

‘It’s no problem,’ Walt replied, now drying the two plates.

‘Why are you being like this?’ Jesse asked.

‘Like what?’ Walt asked.

‘Like you give a shit, it’s weird,’ Jesse admitted, but watching carefully to see Mr White’s reaction.

Walt smirked. ‘Because I do give a shit, and I’m ok with weird,’ he added.

‘Ok, so you asked before if I trust you?’ Jesse then spoke, his voice low, as he made a decision.

Walt put down the dish cloth. ‘Yes,’ he simply replied.

Jesse seemed at odds for a moment, almost nervous before he took a small step towards Walt raising the older man’s concern about what Jesse was about to say. ‘All the lifting I did today, and just then being sick, it’s really pulled on my back,’ he explained and then offered a tube of cream to Walt. ‘Mr White would you apply this, the wounds on my back are really killing at the moment and I can’t reach that middle part when it hurts most, over my spine.’

‘Of course,’ Walt said with no hesitancy at all, taking the tube. ‘You want to do it in here or the living room?’

‘Bathroom, the area should be cleaned first,’ Jesse stated and turned to go up the stairs. Walt duly followed without word, and saw Jesse removing his shirt again as they arrived. Jesse began to wet a washcloth and applied what looked like medicinal soap directly to it, before wetting it again.

‘I can do that,’ Walt offered when he saw Jesse was going to try and do it himself. Jesse seemed reluctant but offered the cloth for Walt to take, avoiding eye contact, he braced his hands on the sink, learning forward slightly.

Walter White began to gently wash the abrasions, counting eight deep clear strikes, all had broken the skin. He then checked the various more precise cuts, lots of them covering his back, arms and guessed there must be more on his chest as well, clearly done by a sharp knife. The larger strikes were all angry and red, and bruises developed either side of every strike. Some had begun to heal a little but the ones directly over Jesse’s spine looked painful and Walt took extra care not to press too hard on them as he cleaned. He tried to drown out the voice of Skyler, and not to notice how undressed Jesse now was right now, he was helping him, giving him aid, this was not the time, he chastised himself.

Jesse moved aside slightly allowing Walt to rinse the cloth and they both saw the red that washed with the water, where some of the cuts had reopened. Walter washed away the soap residue on the boy’s back and Jesse gave him a clean towel to lightly dry the area. Walt then washed his hands with the soap, being thorough before taking the cream.

‘Relax Jesse,’ Walt encouraged as Jesse resumed his position in front of the sink.

Walt could sense the tension from Jesse before he had even started, and he realised why. He wasn’t supposed to know but didn’t change the fact he did, that he was aware of Jesse being abused, both in the past and more recently with Grant, and he figured being in close proximity to a man wasn’t easy for Jesse, but this did answer his question about his trust in him at least. He had also noticed certain patterns of bruising in around around Jesse’s waistband of his jeans, when he had been a teacher those had been warning signs to look for, he closed his eyes for a moment not wanting to dwell and in respect to Jesse, he would speak if he needed too and clearly he was still in recovery.

‘I will try not to hurt you,’ Walt stated as calmly and reassuringly as he could.

‘Just don’t like people touching me lately, nothing personal,’ Jesse hissed.

‘I get it,’ Walt responded without protest, already relishing the trust Jesse was showing him by letting him do this, to care for him, to touch him. ‘I’m starting on the first one now.’

Jesse immediately tense when he felt Walt applying the cream and tried to keep his breathing even. Closing his eyes, he tried to think of happy thoughts, but was struggling, his mind was suddenly racing, it had been messing with him so much lately he could never be sure where his mind was taking him when he needed an escape. Every touch was making his skin crawl, making him uneasy, it had been different at the medical centre. He guessed his brain was ok with a female doing this, and in that environment but this was his home, and it was Mr White applying it. It felt wrong, but he couldn’t work out why, he knew Mr White wouldn’t hurt him, he trusted him, he wouldn’t take advantage, this was perfectly innocent and a needed medical application.

Jesse jumped when he felt his cock stir, no, no, no his brain raged. Mr White mistook his reaction for pain and stopped for a second.

‘Everything ok?’ Walt asked concerned, but then started to sense there was something more in that reaction than pain and he suddenly felt uneasy, guilty even.

‘Yeah,’ Jesse croaked, and his face burned red, but his cock wasn’t getting the memo. He tried thinking of anything other than that part of his brain, this was fucked up. He was thankful to be facing away from Mr White right now, and that the mirror he had smashed hadn’t been replaced yet so there was no way Mr White would know he was getting aroused.

Jesse then did flinch and cry out in pain, as a particularly bad spot right on the bony part of his spine was caught by Mr White’s finger, and that gave Jesse a temporary reprieve downstairs, as the pain radiated within him.

‘I’m sorry,’ Walt genuinely said, and Jesse murmured an ok in reply, giving a more expected reaction making Walt think more about the previous one, just the idea that Jesse was getting off on this stunned Walt, then excited him, he still had it, he thought momentarily with a sly smile.

It was only a temporary reprieve for Jesse as he felt his hard on return with a vengeance, Mr White’s touch was feeling even more playful now, giving Jesse no idea what to do. He collapsed down onto his elbows and let his head drop. ‘I’m sorry Mr White can you give me a second here,’ he begged then instantly missed the contact, this was messed up Jesse thought as he clenched his eyes shut.

‘Sure, I know it must be painful,’ Walt offered, but it was becoming clear to him what was going on and it excited him, as wrong as he knew that was, he kept trying to remind himself of Jesse’s past but it was difficult to ignore what was happening in front of him.

‘You have no idea, please just leave me for a few minutes, I’ll call you when I’m ready, yo,’ Jesse panted, hiding his face in his arms as he rested against the sink.

‘Ok, Jesse, I’ll be just outside,’ Mr White offered to Jesse’s huge relief.

Jesse took some deep breaths and looked upwards towards the ceiling. Why was this happening, why now? He felt he knew the answer, but his brain was playing games with him, teasing him. He was shaking as he put his hand down into his jeans, then his shorts, but it was useless he suddenly realised. His stronger hand still had limited grip and was in a cast, so with irritation he switched to his left hand and tried to hurry things up so Mr White wouldn’t become confused by the delay. It was never quite the same with his weaker hand, but it was good enough for now, it was just taking longer than he thought it would.

‘Jesse,’ Walt spoke calmly from the other side of the door, knowing Jesse was in a different kind of distress. ‘I’m not an idiot.’

‘Please, Mr White just give me some privacy here,’ Jesse begged, knowing there was a line being approached and not knowing if either of them should cross it.

‘As you wish,’ Walter called back. He backed a little away from the door, Walt wasn’t sure if he should be pushing it, but they were both grown-ups, and with Jesse’s weakened state it was clear that he could offer a needed helping hand. ‘But I could help with that too if you want me to?’ Walt decided to bite the bullet and stop the games between them, he rested his head against the closed door in anticipation.

Jesse was horrified that Mr White knew, even though he knew it probably was pretty obvious and took some needed deep breaths, as he let the words sink in. He was partially in shock that Mr White was even suggesting what he was suggesting, it made no sense, this was not a thing they ever had in the past, and this was not Mr White’s concern he panicked, even though he knew his brain had been triggered by Mr White’s attentions on him. 

‘It’s ok, yo.’ Jesse returned, his voice giving away his panic and he didn’t sound convinced, torn between being desperate to relieve himself but also excited by the suggestion, he just wasn’t sure why Mr White was turning him on. ‘Mr White, seriously yo, stop being a homo,’ Jesse hoped some of his old-style bark might be enough to stop whatever this was from going too far, but it wasn’t what he truly felt. He feared where they were heading but he wasn’t sure why, but then he knew exactly why, this was Heisenberg, this was so wrong and then Jesse closed his eyes in defeat, this was too fucking hot for his mind to comprehend he admitted to himself with shame.

‘I just want to help, Jesse,’ Walt simply said from behind the door, trying to remain as calm and considerate as possible, and his heart sank a little when there was no immediate reply and he hoped he hadn’t pushed too much. ‘Just let me know when you’re ok with me coming back in,’ Walt then offered, a little sadly.

Jesse had continued to jerk himself off as his mind tried to comprehend what was going on, all of his thoughts were now buzzing with the idea of Mr White getting him off. After everything that had happened to him over the past few weeks, this felt like the last thing he needed but still, he felt safe with Mr White, and things had changed and maybe he was also seeing things differently now. 

His cock didn’t seem to want his own attentions anymore, as Jesse stopped and let his head drop. The arousal had long passed that he was going soft without the need of release, and he felt disappointment, maybe this was for the best, Jesse considered. but his resolve was weakening, something in the way Mr White was talking to him, was he really being turned on by Mr White’s disobedience now? He must be sicker than he thought, Jesse considered, as it made him more excited and his cock twitched again. Jesse pulled up his boxers and jeans and took another deep breath, he couldn’t avoid Mr White for ever and he’d suffered worst humiliation recently.

‘Yo, Mr White, you can come back in now,’ Jesse called out, and leant back against the sink and making eye contact when Walter walked back into the bathroom, he saw a touch of shame in the old man’s expression which wasn’t a look Jesse was used to seeing on Mr White’s face.

‘Everything ok?’ Walter finally asked after a moment of them just staring at each other, and he saw Jesse just nod his head, he was still shirtless and Walt noticed he had been correct as he spotted several cuts across Jesse’s chest and stomach. ‘Please don’t read anything into my previous offer, I do just want to help, Jesse’

‘Are you playing me?’ Jesse asked and closed his eyes, wanting to fight this, wanting to keep things normal between them, as they always had been but Jesse already knew it was a losing battle, and he knew he wanted this as much as it seemed Mr White did and that just made his brain explode.

‘No, please, Jesse, no, I’m not, I just want to be a better friend, to help you,’ Walt almost pleaded.

‘You’re really not helping, you do know that right?’ Jesse said through gritted teeth, a brief flash of a smirk and he wasn’t fighting anymore, his breathing has quickened, he was the one playing now. ‘How long has it been?’ Jesse asked, glancing at Walt’s reaction.

‘How long has what been?’ Walt asked confused.

‘This,’ Jesse gestured. ‘Mr White you have never offered to jerk me off before so I just wonder if it’s because it’s never been the right moment, and you rubbing my back finally provided one or is it a new thing?’

Walter White looked back at Jesse with confusion and then amusement. ‘You’re the one who got hard, Jesse, how is this suddenly on me?’

Jesse had to smirk, as usual Mr White was right. ‘Ok, that’s the first ever time ok, yo? I’ve not ever thought of you in that way, like ever,’ Jesse explained. ‘You have never made me hard before, ok, never.’

‘Until just now?’ Walt decided to play the game Jesse was successfully failing at.

Jesse’s cheeks blushed in reaction. ‘You got me there,’ Jesse conceded.

Walter liked seeing the coyness present in Jesse’s features now, and he was avoiding his gaze, but he knew Walt was looking at him. He raised his hand and lifted Jesse’s chin, so he stopped avoiding him.

‘Don’t get too caught up in it, Jesse,’ Walt suggested. ‘Look, when you weren’t around, I missed you, ok? I really missed you. I want to better protect you, be a better friend to you and if we get closer than surely that can only be a good thing, both for the partnership and for our own safety and survival, the fact I have your trust is enough for me right now so please don’t start second guessing or freaking out, I’m here for you Jesse, you’re like family to me now, ok?’

‘Family as in son, or family as in other?’ Jesse asked unsure.

‘That is up to you,’ Walt let go of Jesse’s chin.

‘But you’re married and shit, you’re older than my dad I think,’ Jesse returned. ‘And I’m not a homo,’ he added quickly.

Walt couldn’t deny that Jesse even considering them as something more than friends was a huge shock, he never truly believed Jesse would go there so quickly. ‘I’m not saying it would be normal, but it’ll be whatever we make it, if that’s what you want.’

Jesse let his head drop and Walt started to believe that this will be one of those conversations they will never mention again, fully expecting Jesse to just ask him to finish applying the cream and just never giving it a second thought. Instead Jesse let out a sigh and looked him straight in the eyes. ‘I think my dick has made a decision,’ he frowned, before offering the cheekiest smile.

Walt raised his eyebrows on seeing the tenting going on in Jesse’s jeans, just thinking that he had the ability to turn a man half his age on was mind blowing, and he couldn’t wait to tell Skyler. Walt took hold of Jesse’s upper arms. ‘Don’t overthink this, Jesse, right now I honestly just want to help, looks like you need this.’

Jesse let his head drop in defeat, already past the point of no return. ‘Seriously, are we about to do this?’ Jesse asked in defeat, his breathing already heavy.

‘No one will ever know,’ Walt spoke softly, now completely in Jesse’s personal space.

‘I will, yo,’ Jesse bit back, but he slowly undid the buttons on his jeans and let them fall to the floor. ‘Don’t make me regret this,’ Jesse spoke with some fear, but also couldn’t hide his inner excitement.

‘Hey,’ Walt lifted Jesse’s chin to look at him. ‘Trust me.’

Jesse closed his eyes and moved his head to the side, he then shifted slightly so he was now resting completely against the sink. ‘Just do it already, it’s painful enough as it is.’

Walter took a small moment to look at Jesse in front of him, willing and waiting and it truly was a sight that he never appreciated before. Jesse really was special, and he was looking forward to making this new connection with him, to bring them closer together.

Keeping his eyes closed, Jesse scrunched his face up as he felt his boxers being moved down and then felt a hand grip him and he almost came there and then, taking a deep breath as the movement sent his mind spinning momentarily. Mr White then got a regular rhythm going, and Jesse was trying desperately not to read more into it than needed, but Mr White had a good technique and he started to wonder if this was the first time he’d done this. After some admittedly pleasant moments Jesse was just about getting use to the sensation, with a nice steady build up when another sensation caused his to snap his eyes open and he held his breath seeing Mr White take the head of his cock into his mouth.

‘Jesus, Mr White!’ Jesse yelled in shock, then remembered to breath and steady himself against the sink. ‘What the fucking hell, man?’ he gasped, as Mr White took more of his cock in. ‘Oh my god, oh my god,’ Jesse repeated, this was both amazing and repulsive and very wrong, but incredible and he simply couldn’t control himself as he grabbed hold of Mr White’s head. It was relentless as he kept going, it felt incredible and Jesse already knew this would not be the last time they do this, his mind was already made up on that. Seconds later his vision exploded, and he felt himself release with vigour he didn’t even realise he had. His hands fell to Mr White’s shoulders as his cock was finally realised by Mr White and he collapsed down against the older man in a form of bliss he’d long forgotten existed.

‘Breath,’ Mr White encouraged, as he kept him steady in his arms. ‘Take your time, then we will finish your back,’ he calmly spoke.

‘Jesus, Mr White,’ Jesse panted tiredly. ‘That was,’ he couldn’t find the energy to finish.

‘I told you I could help,’ Walt sounded very pleased with himself, enjoying holding the practically naked Jesse in his arms, save for the bunched up jeans around his ankles, it looked so wrong but felt so right, Walt smiled broadly, protectively holding Jesse.

‘No fucking kidding, yo,’ Jesse spoke between heavy breaths after a few seconds of recovery.

Walter White lifted Jesse’s chin and to the younger man’s surprise he kissed him gently. ‘We look after each other, yes?’

Jesse pulled back from the kiss, feeling sleepy but safe for the first time in a long while. ‘Yeah,’ he spoke huskily, still holding on and ignoring the growing headache that seemed to be trying to get his attention, his mind was drifting but he snapped himself out of losing himself to whatever nonsense it was going to show him.

‘That’s all that was, nothing else, just two friends looking out for one another,’ Walt assured him.

‘Thanks,’ Jesse responded, and he stayed in Walt’s hold for a few more minutes before finally getting up. He pulled up his boxers and jeans and made himself presentable again. Walt washed his hands again and then got the cream.

‘Let’s finish off your back and then maybe try some more food?’ Walt suggested.

‘Yeah,’ Jesse agreed still a little shell-shocked, as he leant on the sink again, facing away from Mr White, but this time had absolutely no qualms about Mr White touching him.

* * *

Mike had already clocked that Walter White’s Aztec was parked outside Jesse’s house as he parked a small distance away. He didn’t exactly want Walt to hear about Gus’s plans for Jesse to join him on his road trip the next day, so he stayed put, willing to wait until Walt had left before approaching the house. He had been waiting for over an hour already however, and wondering what Walt and Jesse could be doing, checking that it was nearly 9pm.

He wasn’t sure how he felt about Jesse joining him for the pick-ups, not only because of the boy’s need to recover and take things easy for a bit, but also the larger implications of being seen as Mike’s right-hand man. Jesse had more than proved himself to be loyal and reliable, and even capable of withstanding brutal punishment but to start working for Gus in a broader sense of the business, beyond cooking? Mike glanced at Jesse’s house again, seeing Walt’s car still parked outside, going nowhere, and settled in for the wait.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After things took a surprising turn.. Jesse needs to talk

Walt observed Jesse deep in thought across from him in the single chair, he looked relaxed and calm as he just sat there. Neither man had spoken for a couple of minutes, and when they had it had just been asking about the next day’s plans, getting one final cook in for the week and maybe taking some time out to either relax or in Walt’s case put some hours in at the car wash. They had both avoided talking about what had just happened between them, it was becoming tedious how much they were both dancing around the topic.

‘I could get you a part time job at the car wash if you need a distraction,’ Walt offered.

‘Hell no,’ Jesse returned. ‘I’m more than capable of finding stuff to do.’

‘So long as it does not involve illegal substances, right?’ Walt checked.

Jesse rubbed his face, a habit he was doing with greater frequency lately when he was feeling troubled. ‘I really need them right now,’ he admitted. ‘But it’s cool, there’s nothing but legal drugs in this house right now, can’t take narcotics with the shit I’m on for whatever it is I have,’ he vaguely gestured to himself.

‘Promise me you won’t buckle, you won’t succumb, try and stay clean this time,’ Walt asked sincerely.

Jesse looked anxious suddenly, like a switch had been activated, his blue eyes staring at Walt as if he’d been triggered. ‘What? You suck my dick and you think you can control me now?’

‘What? No,’ Walt defended, and paused for a beat seeing Jesse looking on edge, seeing he was shaking a little. ‘Is that what you really want to talk about?’

‘What was that, yo?’ Jesse simply asked, showing clearly that he had wanted to talk about it.

‘As I said, you needed help and I wanted to help,’ Walt calmly returned.

‘You,’ Jesse paused, as if not quite believing what he was saying. ‘You sucked me off, man.’

‘It looked like you enjoyed it,’ Walt shrugged.

‘You are such a bastard,’ Jesse got to his feet, clearly upset suddenly as he held himself.

‘Jesse, listen,’ Walt stood up likewise. ‘What is the problem here? You gave me your blessing, your consent.’

Jesse took a moment before responding, his voice louder than before. ‘You took advantage of me, and now you have that over me, like forever, dude, that’s not ok,’ he finally said with anger.

‘I took advantage of you?’ Walt shook his head to disagree. ‘Jesse, no, don’t say that, please,’ Walt pleaded. ‘I meant it when I said we look after each other, it’s nothing more than that.’

‘Stop it,’ Jesse’s emotions were rising, as his hands came up in a defensive motion. ‘Stop playing me, I knew it was too good to be true, that’s is just another of your games isn’t it? What the hell do you want from me now?’

Walt took a deep breath to contain his own feelings. ‘Jesse, I want nothing from you.’

‘Really?’ Jesse questioned. ‘You’re not like, perving on me right now, Mr White?’ he said with some aggression in his voice, challenging Walt as he closed the distance between them, standing close. ‘You know Gus wants me to replace you, so what is this, a power play against Gus, suck my dick and Gus loses? Is that it? You’ll use this against me and Gus in some twisted power play?’

‘No, Jesse, what the hell is this?’ Walt said with as much honesty and calm as he could muster, and it was for real, Jesse paranoia was worrying him and he suddenly feared that his recent thoughts about Jesse had blinded him to the situation they were now in. He was angry at himself now, he had known Jesse wasn’t stable especially after recent events, he should have left his own needs as far out of this as possible. ‘It wasn’t like that Jesse, trust me,’ he pleaded, desperate to make it right.

Walt froze as Jesse cupped him without warning, the sudden move stunned him as Jesse began to rub him through his pants. There was a look in Jesse’s eyes that Walt had never seen before, like he was programmed, attempting clumsily to take control masking a hidden pain and anger that Walt was afraid to understand.

‘Jesse,’ Walt’s voice was strained, knowing he had to fix this fast or maybe lose Jesse’s trust for good. ‘Don’t do this, don’t ruin the good between us.’

‘Is this what you want? Is this part of your big plan, Heisenberg?’ Jesse asked in a hushed whisper, close to his face, that look still burning in his eyes.

‘No,’ Walt said softly. ‘But do you want it like this?’ Walt questioned, wondering if maybe some dark recess in Jesse’s soul was actually at play here, the kid had so many skeletons in his closet it was worth asking he felt.

Jesse pulled back sharply with that comment, snatching his hand away and putting a little more distance between them. ‘This isn’t about me,’ Jesse returned loudly, but losing all the intensity and he now just looked afraid. ‘For once, stop pretending that this is about me, this is all about you, Mr White, it’s always about you,’ Jesse yelled deflecting his anger, pointing at Mr White to strengthen his words. ‘You did this, it’s always you and what you want, Mr White, is that it?’ Jesse accused. ‘You now want me? No, no,’ Jesse stressed, shaking his head. ‘Not like Grant, not again, I can’t keep being used like that!’ He backed away with panic, his breathing short and erratic, he looked out of control.

Walt stood stock still, stunned by Jesse’s accusation and it hit him hard, what he had done, and he felt so foolish and stupid. ‘Jesse, no, it’s not like that, what Grant did, this isn’t that, I promise.’

Jesse covered his face with his hands, trying to keep his composure but he said nothing as Walt stepped a little closer, with caution.

‘Jesse, I told you, I simply wanted to help you, Jesse,’ Walt returned calmly, desperate to be heard.

‘Why?’ Jesse snapped back his face full of fury.

Walt then saw it completely, he saw the anger, confusion, betrayal, conflict and he saw how truly broken Jesse was now that he couldn’t comprehend that someone just wanted to help him with no bad agenda, and he fully realised that he had played a part in Jesse being in this state, the past year had been building to this, and he was unable to help him, he couldn’t help Jesse and it broke his heart. Walt moved away and picked up his jacket, before turning back to Jesse who now just stood there looking lost and unsure. 

‘I was just trying to be a friend for once, Jesse, like you deserve,’ Walt said sadly. ‘I was just trying to help, but I guess I can’t stop hurting you, I should go,’ Walt simply said and moved towards the door to leave.

‘Wait,’ Jesse called after him, and Walt stopped before reaching the door, Jesse’s shoulder’s slump and he looked down at the floor. ‘Look, maybe I’m just beyond help or something,’ he spoke much softer, sadder. ‘We still cool, yeah?’ he asked with a touch of desperation in his voice, he looked terrible, clearly at odds.

‘We’re still cool, Jesse,’ Walt confirmed, inside he jumped for joy at the small reprieve Jesse had offered him, and watched Jesse take that information before he then simply begin to tidy up the remaining boxes of food almost as a distraction. Walt threw his jacket back on the futon and quietly helped Jesse tidy up, and they both took the items to the kitchen.

Walt waited for Jesse to finish filling the bin before he spoke again. ‘Jesse, the last few weeks have tested us both, you more so than me but it’s been a really harsh lesson for me, I need you to understand this,’ Walt began cautiously, keeping an eye on Jesse’s reactions, he was now resting against the counter, and avoiding eye contact but clearly listening. ‘I’ve realised the part I’ve played in that, how I’ve ignored or simply not considered the ongoing impact this strange journey we’ve been on has had on you, what I’ve asked you to do, to give up, to suffer through and then,’ Walt paused and took a deep breath, his own anxieties showing through now. ‘Then not knowing if I’d ever get the chance to make it up to you, to tell you things will change,’ Walt explained. ‘Until this morning I had pretty much consigned myself to maybe never seeing you again, dealing with the immense guilt I’ve been feeling since I’ve had this wake-up call and I guess I feel I owe you so much, Jesse, and I need to be better, do better, at recognising what you need from me.’

‘Like blow jobs?’ Jesse responded coldly, looking at Walt. They both held stoic stares for a few seconds before they both began to smirk, then laughed out loud enjoying the sudden release of tensions between them.

‘Well, that’s not exactly what I was referring to, but you needed that today, try and tell me you didn’t,’ Walt said with a relieved smile.

‘It was good,’ Jesse had to concede through his laughing, and they both noticeably relaxed as the laughter died down again. ‘I just, I don’t know,’ Jesse rubbed his face. ‘Never thought that would ever happen with us, it’s thrown me a bit, Mr White, can’t deny it. I could just about believe you were going to be more of a friend, someone I could rely on finally, you would have my back more but that? No Mr White, that was no what I was expecting, like ever.’

‘What happened to you, Jesse, what Grant did to you, I just wasn’t thinking, and I’m so sorry I made you even think for even one moment that I was doing the same,’ Walt explained with sadness. ‘I care about you Jesse, it’s about time I started to show that to you a bit more, and no I don’t mean just like that,’ Walt second guessed where Jesse might go with that, and Jesse’s stifled smirk confirmed he was going right there. ‘I guess I just want you to understand that there’s nothing wrong with what happened between us today, that’s the important thing you need to understand, it doesn’t mean me and you are now an item, far from it, or that I want to control you, dominant you, whatever, it just means we trust each other, we’re comfortable with each other, and we can help each other, ok?’

‘I get it, you just wanted to help,’ Jesse offered quietly, still avoiding Walt’s gaze. ‘I’ve done enough sleeping around lately to totally get that it can mean nothing but,’ he paused for a moment to find the right phrasing. ‘Not with people I know, yo,’ he shrugged looking troubled. ‘I mess about with faceless strangers, when I’m high, when I’m out of it. I just never knew you were into guys as well as girls, I’m not sure how I feel about that, about us being close in that way so I just need time to get my head around this helping each other in that way, I just don’t know,’ Jesse looked at odds. ‘I guess Grant fucked me up in more ways than I realised,’ he finally admitted with a heavy sigh. ‘Or maybe stuff happened in Mexico, I can’t really remember much but I know it wasn’t fun, or maybe I’m just being an arsehole because I really need a hit, Mr White, I just don’t feel right at the moment.’

Walter let the high comment go, pausing for a moment before speaking. ‘Would it surprise you to learn that I actually had some fun in my younger years, Jesse?’ Walter offered slyly, desperately wanting to lighten the mood and see the dark cloud lift that currently surrounded Jesse. ‘I was a student of science in the 1970’s for pities sake, you think we didn’t know what experimenting was all about?’

‘Can’t really say I’ve thought too much about it, yo,’ Jesse admitted and pushed himself away from the counter where he’d been leaning but he still looked troubled. ‘You were just putting that stuff on my back, Mr White, I don’t even know why I responded the way I did,’ he then offered. ‘I get fucked up by Grant, and now I’m turned on by male contact? Is this a thing now? I’m gay cos of what Grant did to me, or was I always gay and in denial, or what’s that other one, bi?’

‘Jesse,’ Walt stepped a little closer, with more purpose. ‘Quit thinking about what it all means, what happened upstairs in the bathroom, it just happened, we dealt with your then urgent need and we move on,’ Walt suggested calmly, placing both hands on Jesse’s shoulders. ‘You’ve had weeks of people hurting you, abusing you, maybe your body just liked the change of pace I offered you for once, have you considered that?’

Jesse gave that some thought. ‘Yeah,’ he finally made eye contact with Mr White, standing in front of him, the close proximity wasn’t freaking him out, more the opposite. ‘Sorry I flipped out on you, touched you and shit, head is still a mess I guess, I really don’t know what that was, I know that was weird of me to do, so I’m really sorry,’ he added and then sighed as he moved away to put some space between him and Mr White. ‘We’re both in this shit a bit deeper than we ever intended, right, Mr White?’

‘Yeah,’ Walt agreed. ‘I’m just glad we’re both still standing. Things are going to change, I’ve changed, and I want you to know this, I want to help you.’

Jesse looked at Walt, then slowly nodded his head to agree before moving to the sink to get some fresh water to drink and took a couple of gulps, then seemed to steady himself closing his eyes for a moment.

‘Are you ok?’ Walt checked.

‘I think so,’ Jesse acknowledged but looked distracted. ‘Just eaten quite a bit tonight, still getting a bit of nausea but it’s ok.’

‘You’ll be ok on your own tonight?’ Walt asked.

Jesse offered a big smile in return. ‘No, no, that’s too much, Mr White, you are not staying the night, that’s too soon,’ Jesse announced. ‘As good as you were, I have my reputation and sanity to uphold, yo.’

‘You know that isn’t what I meant,’ Walt lightly chided him, but it was a relief to see that smile on Jesse’s face again even if at his expense.

‘I’ll be fine,’ Jesse confirmed a little brighter. ‘And I’ll call you if I’m not, ok?’ he added.

‘Ok,’ Walt agreed. ‘I need to get going, before my adoring wife has reason to lock me out.’

‘Thanks for your help, all of it,’ he stated knowingly. ‘It was good to just talk about stuff,’ Jesse then made a point of saying. ‘We’ve never really done that before, not like this.’

‘No problem, and agreed we need to talk more,’ Walt smiled. ‘It’s good to have you back, Jesse, I really mean it. See you tomorrow, 10am?’

‘Yeah, I’ll be there,’ Jesse confirmed, suddenly looking tired but strangely content.

Jesse waited in the kitchen until he heard his front door slam, and took some deep breaths still a little weirded out by what had happened earlier, he busied himself tidying up the living room till it was spotless when he heard a knock at his door and wondered what Mr White had forgotten. Opening the door, he was surprised to see Mike outside, at this late hour.

‘Mike,’ Jesse frowned.

‘I didn’t think Walter White was ever going to leave,’ Mike stated as he stepped inside.

Jesse smirked. ‘You were waiting outside for him to leave, what the hell? You weren’t disturbing us if you needed to see me.’

‘When it comes to relaying Gus’s orders, I think discretion is key where Walter White is concerned,’ Mike stated. ‘You’re with me tomorrow, so this is me telling you to be good to go at 7am, we have a long drive ahead of us.’

‘What?’ Jesse checked. ‘I’m supposed to be cooking with Mr White.’

‘Not tomorrow, Gus wants you with me,’ Mike stated, and looked around the tidy room. ‘What did Walter White want?’

Jesse shrugged. ‘Just to catch up, he didn’t know I was back till I turned up at the laundry this morning,’ Jesse stated with an accusing tone in his voice.

‘I didn’t tell him because I thought we had discussed at some length that you really needed the rest before being thrown back into his chaotic world,’ Mike stated firmly. ‘You’d be wise to make it need to know only with that man if you want my honest advice.’

‘I don’t know, I think what happened to me before,’ Jesse paused. ‘It’s changed him, he’s different towards me now, seriously yo, he really is.’

‘It’s temporary, trust me,’ Mike stated. ‘You gave him a fright I saw that myself, but he’ll be back to his old manipulating ways before you know it.’

‘Is that you or Gus speaking?’ Jesse asked cuttingly.

Mike stared at Jesse. ‘I’m going to pretend you didn’t just ask me that, kid, I know it’s late, you must be tired.’

‘I’m just saying that I know Mr White better than you give me credit for,’ Jesse stated.

‘I’ve seen enough to know you really don’t, but I’m not going to discuss this now, you need to rest and be ready to go at 7am, ok?’ Mike stated. ‘And don’t tell Walter, it’s need to know only, do you understand?’

Jesse stared hard at Mike before relaxing. ‘Ok,’ Jesse agreed with a tired sigh, his growing unease about Mike wasn’t strong enough to start picking fights with him just yet.

‘How you holding up, kid? You don’t look great,’ Mike then observed.

Jesse frowned, his mind still running over all the things that were said and done when Mr White had been there, and it was a lot to take in. ‘I’m good,’ he simply said with little enthusiasm. ‘Head’s feeling a bit fuzzy, feels a bit heavy.’

‘Have you booked a follow up appointment with Doctor Carmichael?’ Mike asked.

‘Not yet,’ Jesse answered. ‘Not sure I want to, I don’t know.’

‘I think you should,’ Mike offered, and Jesse looked at him, a little unsure. ‘Kid, it can’t hurt to have someone to talk to who isn’t mixed up in this world.’ Jesse still didn’t respond, but he looked clearly troubled. ‘What went on here tonight, what did Walter White say to you?’

‘Nothing,’ Jesse was a little too quick to answer.

‘Sure, kid,’ Mike stated. ‘If he’s filling your head with ridiculous plans, theories or ideas again, then even more reason to book yourself in for a chat with Carmichael, you understand?’ Mike stated.

‘Ok, I’ll do it,’ Jesse complained. ‘Tomorrow, when we get back or something.’

‘I will keep asking till you do,’ Mike warned and then now satisfied that Jesse had got all the messages he had for him, he turned a headed towards the door.

Mike let himself out and Jesse tried not to be too concerned about the following days plans, he moved up the stairs and went into his bathroom. He found an old shaving mirror and placed it on the side so he could look at his beaten reflection, grabbing his clippers he set them up and proceeded to clipper his hair into a buzzcut, something he had wanted to do since he got back, brief flashes of memories of his hair being painfully held during his captivity, the buzz cut gave him an older more serious look, he wasn’t going to look like some dumb kid anymore that gets taken advantage of.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Walt recieves a phonecall that proves to be shattering...

Skyler White slowly opened her eyes and immediately checked the time, it was a little after 4am and then she realised what had woken her up. Glancing over she saw Walt’s phone was vibrating on his side table, she leaned over a little and saw the name Pinkman as the caller.

‘Walt, Walt, honey,’ She urgently shook him. ‘Jesse is calling.’

Walt stirred and was awake on hearing her words and he fumbled as he tried to co-ordinate his response.

‘Thanks,’ he simply said as he took his phone and answered. ‘Jesse?’

There was heavy breathing down the line, giving Walt the chance to gather his own senses, he moved out of bed and got to his feet, exiting the room to take the call in the living room.

‘Jesse, speak to me,’ Walt stated, checking the time, it had only been a few hours since he’d last seen Jeese.

‘Mr, Mr White,’ Jesse finally responded.

‘What? What’s wrong, what’s happened?’ Walt asked with concern, something in Jesse’s tone was off and he sounded in shock.

‘My head, Mr White, I’ve been seeing weird ass things, flashes, senses of stuff for days but I think I remember now, it’s all come back,’ Jesse said with panic.

‘Remember what?’

‘Everything,’ Jesse said with fear.

‘You’re not making sense, Jesse,’ Walt reasoned. ‘What does that mean?’

‘I think Del Burley abused me as a kid,’ Jesse said shakily, his voice hollow as he spoke, clearly on edge as he began to sob.

Walt was lost for words, was that the missing piece in this puzzle he tried to fathom but his first concern was Jesse. ‘Do you need me to come over?’

‘No, no, I just,’ Jesse paused, clearly struggling. ‘I just want to talk, like we did earlier, I need to talk.’

‘Ok,’ Walt sat down in his armchair. ‘I’m listening.’

‘I’ve had this feeling for a while, since what happened with Grant I think, that there was something,’ Jesse began, trying to make sense of things between sobs. ‘What Grant did must have triggered something, those nightmare visions I was seeing bits of, I don’t know but I was always hazy about stuff that happened those last years at high school,’ Jesse explained. ‘Whenever I asked my parents about it, they just said it was the drugs, that I was out of control and stuff, they always changed subjects quickly,’ Jesse offered.

‘I remember you saying it might have been those pills your parents gave you?’ Walt offered.

‘Heh, yeah,’ Jesse’s voice sounded tired, exhausted even. ‘My vitamins.’

‘Vitamins?’ Walt questioned.

‘I’d forgotten but that’s what they were sold to me as, I remember now, Mom and Dad were strict about me taking them,’ Jesse remembered. ‘It was Aunt Ginny who worked it out I think, told me later that those pills were messing with my head, possibly controlling me somehow, I think she told me they disrupted my development or some shit,’ Jesse sighed. ‘Basically, the opposite of what my parents thought they were doing.’

‘That’s terrible,’ Walt spoke genuinely. ‘Why would you poison your own kid?’

‘My parents were disappointed in me, I wasn’t smart enough for them, never good enough,’ Jesse offered. ‘Man, it’s all come back, every last fucking detail, I don’t know if I can deal with this Mr White.’

‘Are you sure you don’t want me to come over?’ Walt asked again.

‘I just want to be alone right now,’ Jesse admitted.

‘I don’t think that’s a good idea, Jesse,’ Walt returned.

‘I got attacked again,’ Jesse then stated.

‘When?’ Walt checked concerned.

‘In Mexico, three times,’ he said nonchalantly, sounding so calm now with the devastating news.

‘Jesse,’ Walt desperately wanted to be with Jesse, to hold him right now, protect him. ‘Please let me come over.’

‘It hurt, man, it really hurt, well two of the attacks, the other was more a mind fuck,’ Jesse continued, ignoring Walt’s pleas as he just talked with very little emotion now. ‘But they are all dead now, Gus saw to that, well actually one of them I killed, he had a family, he wasn’t that bad I think he wanted to help me if Gus hadn’t got there first.’

‘Jesse, please, stop talking for a moment,’ Walt requested.

‘I want to talk, Mr White,’ Jesse said calmly. ‘Gus could have had me, I was left for him as a present, but he helped me escape instead,’ Jesse continued. ‘He could have fucked me and killed me like the rest of that cartel, but he didn’t.’

Walt looked upwards, at a loss as to what to say. ‘Gus has other plans for you, Jesse, don’t read into that too much.’

‘I know, but why didn’t he fuck me like the others did? There was nothing stopping him, he clearly wants to fuck me one way or the other, why not actually do it when he had the chance?’

‘Maybe because he sees you as something other than that,’ Walt was forced to suggest.

Jesse was quiet for a moment before he spoke again. ‘You want to fuck me, don’t you?’

‘Jesse,’ Walt was hurt more than he ever could be with those words, but he couldn’t deny the thoughts of Jesse in that way hadn’t crossed his mind in recent times, his feelings for Jesse had grown so strong in his absence that all he wanted to do was be with Jesse body and soul but not like this, not with Jesse hurting so badly. ‘Jesse, please, don’t do this, don’t paint me like those monsters.’

‘I don’t get it Mr White,’ Jesse sounded on edge now. ‘Why has this stuff happened to me, why did I forget? What do I do? Shit, man, I was fifteen,’ Jesse began to openly sob now. ‘My parents fucking sold me to Del Burley so Jake could go to that stupid school and be the son they always wanted,’ he then blurted out, his emotions cracking.

Walter White was reeling, he hadn’t been sure anything a human could do could make him feel sick anymore, not since he became Heisenberg, but how wrong he had been, he felt sick.

‘I was just a kid, Mr White,’ Jesse sobbed.

‘I wish I had done more,’ Walt responded, he didn’t know what else he could say. ‘Jesus, he was the man who use to pick you up, the black car, I saw you Jesse a couple times after school, you got into a black BMW, you told me he was your dad’s friend.’

‘Yeah,’ Jesse indicated he remembered. ‘I remember, one time was on the weekend where,’ Jesse stopped talking and Mr White knew why.

‘We didn’t see you in school again that term,’ Walter offered, and he felt physically sick.

‘Mr White,’ Jesse then spoke.

‘Yes, Jesse?’ Walt returned when Jesse didn’t speak.

‘I didn’t mean anything by what I said, sorry,’ Jesse offered sadly.

‘What do you mean?’

‘That you want to fuck me, like those others have,’ Jesse sniffed, composing himself.

‘Jesse I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done what I did, I didn’t appreciate what you had been through in Mexico, it won’t happen again, I promise,’ Walt said. ‘It was a mistake, a stupid mistake.’

‘Did you know about me in school?’ Jesse then asked.

‘Not in school, no, there was radio silence about you at the time, and it was never questioned even after you returned. We were told by the board to just let you be, and to be honest, as you were no longer in my class I didn’t really dwell on it, I was just glad you were back at all,’ Walt remembered. ‘I did learn a week or so ago that you may have been sexually assaulted whilst a student at our school, but that was the first I ever heard of it and I didn’t want to say anything just in case it was idle speculation.’

‘Who told you?’ Jesse seemed to appreciate the distraction from his own turmoil.

‘Mrs Baker, I bumped into her when I was collecting Junior from school last week, we were reminiscing about old times, you’d been in my thoughts quite a bit so I mentioned to her by way of conversation that I’d seen you lately, and she basically told me more than I was expecting,’ Walter admitted.

‘I remember her,’ Jesse idly spoke. ‘She hated me.’

‘She didn’t hate you, Jesse, in fact she told me she only wished you happiness after everything you went through,’ Walt reasoned tiredly.

Jesse just made a scoffing noise. ‘Didn’t stop her accepting Burley’s money to stay quiet.’

Walt froze. ‘That’s why it was forbidden to talk about?’

‘I told them I’d only go back to school if they could promise me no one would hassle me, ask me no questions and act like nothing happened, I didn’t want any attention,’ Jesse shrugged. ‘I didn’t remember anything, like details or shit, but I knew enough to know something bad went down, and I needed the school to be a safe space, so I guess Burley did what Burley does.’

‘Jesus,’ Walt could only offer. ‘But you remember stuff now, details and what happened.’

‘Pretty much, I think Franko tried to force me to forget again when I started to remember when they held me a couple weeks back, so he gave me doses of that date rape drug to make me forget again, but I think my minds had enough of the amnesia shit I’ve been holding onto for so long, it’s setting me free,’ Jesse considered.

‘That’s a good way to look at it, Jesse,’ Walt sounded encouraged.

‘Thanks for listening, Mr White, I mean it,’ Jesse then offered, a little brighter. ‘I’m feeling tired now, I’m going to get some sleep.’

‘You do that, maybe we can talk more tomorrow?’ Walt stated.

‘Yeah, bye Mr White,’ Jesse killed the call leaving Walt to look at his phone with dismay, trying to make sense of what Jesse had just revealed already knowing it just scratched the surface.

‘Everything ok?’ Skyler asked as she entered the kitchen. ‘Sorry, I wasn’t listening, but I heard the call end so felt it was safe to come out.’

‘I honestly don’t know but I’m hoping it is,’ Walt half smiled, getting to his feet.

‘So, Jesse is back, safe and sound?’ Skyler ventured.

‘It’s complicated, do you mind if we talk later, I need to just let what was just said sink in a little,’ Walt said with sadness, before heading back to their room and returning to bed. He lay down, if he had felt the need to be more protective and more of a friend to Jesse before, then it had just increased ten-fold, he was now hurting for what Jesse been put through, desperate to make things right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, I really hope you enjoyed this and it helps continue the ongoing story, and set the scene for more - the immediate follow on to this will continue in the real Part 3, but next up I'm taking you back to the beginning, so you can see what Jesse has remembered from his teenage years, that will set things up even more for the real Part 3 later on :)
> 
> Please comment and let me know thoughts and theories!


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